Collector ring assembly



March 20 1945- v. R HOLMGREN u COLLECTOR RING ASSEMBLY Filed Sept. 14,1943 d f l I I l I l I I I I I l l I l l I I l l I I I I l I O l Il mw vE .lw.

Inventor. Viking RHolmgren, b JV c H aIi/igcowhey.

Patented Mar. 20, 1945 COLLECTOR RING ASSEMBLY Viking R. Holmgren, Lynn,Mass., assignor to General Electric Company, a

New York corporation of Application September 14, 1943, Serial No.502,291

5 Claims.

This invention relates to collector ring assemblies.

Collector ring assemblies of various types have been used in the past inwhich a plurality of collector rings is assembled over a supportingelement and insulated therefrom by being shrunk over an insulatingelement arranged over the sup; porting member. This is the conventionalpractice of making this type of current collector and results instresses set up in the ring which 'prevent using the collector ringuntil it has worn to its full depth, as these stresses might causebreaking or cracking of the rings if they are worn too thin.Furthermore, this method of shrinking rings over insulation involves anuncertain factor which arises regarding the proper lit of the ring overthe insulation due ,to uncertain thicknesses of insulating material,such as mica in the insulating element, and the effect of heating on thebinder used in the manufacture of the insulation.

An object of my invention is to provide an improved collector ringassembly.

Another object ol my invention is to provide an improved longer wearingcollector ring assembly in which the rings are provided with retainingflanges which also assist in maintaining a lower ring temperature byproviding a greater radiating surface.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent andmy invention will be better understood from the following descriptionreferring to the accompanying drawing, and the features of novelty whichcharacterize my invention will be pointed out with particularity in theclaims annexed to and forming part of this speciiication.

In the drawing, Fig. l is a longitudinal sectional View through acollector ring assembly embodying my invention; and Fig. 2 is asectional view taken along line 2 2 of Fig. l.

Referring to the drawing, I have shown an embodiment of my improvedcollector ring assembly construction which includes a supporting memberI which may be the shaft of a dynamoelectric machine. This shaft isformed with an outwardly extending annular ange II and is provided witha sleeve of insulating material I2 about which collector rings areadapted to be arranged. This sleeve I2 is preferably formed of apreshrunk insulating material, such as a preshrunk Textolite tube, whichforms a tight frictional fit with the supporting portion of the shaft I0about which it is arranged. A pair of collector rings I3 and I4 isarranged over the insulating sleeve I2, and

these rings are adapted to be electrically connected to a part of thedynamoelectiic machine winding by insulated conductors I5 and I6 whichextend through openings in the shaft flange II and through passages I'Iformed through the inner sides of the collector rings. These conductorsare electrically connected to the collector rings. and insulating plugsI3 and I5 are adapted to fill the ends of the passages Il to prevent theentrance of foreign substances therein. The collector ring I3 is formedwith an outwardly extending collar which forms the current collectingportionA of the vring and also is provided with outwardly extendingflanges 2l and 22 at the ends thereof. .The collector ring I4- isformed-with an outwardly vextending collar 23 which forms thecurrent-collecting portion of the ring and is provided with an outwardlyextending liange 24 which is mechanically secured to the flange 22 ofthe collector` ring I3 by a plurality of through bolts 25 which extendthrough openings in these two flanges. Avringv-ofI insulating material26 is arranged between the adjacent surfaces of the flanges 22 and 24.and insulating bushings 21, 28, and 29 are arranged about the bolts 25to insulate these bolts from the slip ring flanges. These bolts provideretaining means for holding the slip rings in assembled relationship,and this assembly is secured to the supporting shaft I0 by a pluralityof bolts 30 which extend through openings in the shaft ange II andcorresponding openings in the collector ring flange 2|. These twoflanges are insulated from each other by a ring 3l of insulatingmaterial, and insulating bushings 32, 33, and 34 are arranged about thebolts .30 to insulate these retaining elements from the collector ringfiange 2| and the shaft ilange I I. With this construction, thecollector rings I3 and I4 can be used until they are substantially wornto the slots II without danger of cracking or breaking due to stressesset up during their assembly and wear. Furthermore, the bolts 25 and 30preferably are arranged with the bolt heads and nuts extending out fromthe flanges. This produces a fan effect which greatly increases thecooling effect of the air which circulates over the rings, whichtogether with the outwardly extending retaining anges on these ringswhich provide relatively large radiating surfaces results in a greatlyreduced operating temperature for these rings.

While I have illustrated and described a particular embodiment of myinvention, modifica.- tions thereof will occur to those skilled in theart. I desire it to be understood, therefore, that my Ainvention is notto be limited to the particular arrangement disclosed, and I intend inthe appended claims to cover all modifications which do not depart fromthe spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. A collector ring assembly comprising a supporting member having anoutwardly extending flange, insulating material arranged about saidsupporting member, a plurality of collector rings having a tight slidingt on said insulation and having outwardly extending and axiallydisplaced cooling and retaining flanges, insulation between adjacentsurfaces of said ring flanges and between said supporting member flangeand the adjacent ring flange, retaining means for securing together saidcollector rings, and retaining means for securing said collector ringsto said supporting member flange.

2. A collector ring assembly comprising a supporting member having anoutwardly extending flange, insulating material arranged about saidvsupporting member,` a plurality of collector rings having a tightsliding flt on said insulation and having outwardly extending andaxially displaced cooling and retaining flanges, insulation betweenadjacent surfaces of said ring flanges and between said supportingmember flange and the adjacent ring flange, insulated retaining meansextending through said ring flanges Vfor securing together saidcollector rings, and insulated retaining means extending through saidsupporting member ange and the adjacent ring flange for securing saidcollector rings to said supporting member.-

3. A collector ring assembly comprising a supporting member havingv anoutwardly extending flange, insulating material arranged about saidsupporting member, a plurality of collector rings having a tight slidingfit on said insulation and having outwardly extending and axiallydisplaced cooling and retaining ilanges, insulation between adjacentsurfaces of said ring flanges and between said supporting member flangeand the adjacent said supporting Vmember flange and the adjacent ringflange for securing said collector rings to said supporting member,conductor passages in said rings, and insulated conductors connected tosaid rings and extending through said passages in said rings.

4. A collector ring assembly comprising a supporting member having anoutwardly extending flange, insulating material arranged around saidsupporting member and on one side of said llange, a plurality ofcollector rings fitted over said insulation on said supporting memberand being provided with outwardly extending and axially displacedcooling and retaining flanges, insulation between adjacent surfaces ofsaid ring flanges, retaining means extending through adjacent of saidring flanges for securing together vsaid collector rings, and retainingmeans extending through said supporting member flange and the adjacentring flange for securing said collector rings to said supporting member,both of said retaining means extending axially beyond said flanges forproviding fan impeller elements for circulating cooling air over saidrings.

5. A collector ring assembly comprising a supporting member having anoutwardly extending flange, insulating material arranged around saidsupporting member and on one side of said flange, a plurality ofcollector rings fltted over said insulation on'said supporting memberand being provided with outwardly extending and axially displacedcooling and retaining flanges, insulation between adjacent surfaces ofsaidring flanges, retaining means extending through adjacent of saidring flanges for securing together said co1- lector rings, retainingmeans extending through said supporting member flange and the adjacentring flange for securing said collector rings to said supporting member,both of said retaining means extending axially beyond said flanges forproviding fan impeller elements for circulating cooling air over saidrings, conductor passages in said rings, and insulated conductorsconnected to said rings and extending through said passages in saidrings.

VIKING R. HOLMGREN.

